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Why Everyone Should Know about Testaroli

Byfrancescadzani@gmail.com
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My mom was telling me about this pasta some time before going to Italy and I could never remember the name of it. She told me that upon meeting my fathers extended family in Pontremoli, Tuscany she tried this flat doughy pasta coated in pesto and parmesan cheese. I kept imagining this dense, round dumpling- like goodness and couldn’t wait to experience what she had once eaten. Why didn’t Grandma Zani ever make it for me growing up? What was so special about this pasta like pancake- dumpling glory my mouth had been watering over for weeks… 

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I had my first bite sitting in a tiny living room converted- dining room after I watched Great Aunt Elda cut it up and dunk it in hot water for sixty seconds. While visiting the village of Pontremoli where my Grandmothers family resides I didn’t get the chance to see Testaroli created from scratch. My cousins did, however, go beyond their means to grab hold of an entire box full of individually sealed Testaroli, some of which I was able to take home to America. There is something to be said about these Testaroli, especially when your cousins have relatives in the business making it. 

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After two and a half months in Italy, I finally got to see for myself what this Testaroli was and how wrong I imagined it to be. It’s not thick and dense at all, in fact it looks like a thick crepe with a smooth brown texture on the top side and small air-bubbles on the flip side. The Testaroli is the oldest known recorded pasta in Italy and, although, it may never come across ones mind as pasta, it is indeed in that family of carbs. Made with flour, water, and salt the Testaroli doesn’t turn into pasta dough, but rather a batter just like pancakes. The batter is poured out onto this huge round griddle made especially for this pasta and I would estimate it to be about a foot and a half in diameter when cooked!  Grandma Zani made my mom buy this huge indoor flat round pizza griddle years ago just for this purpose so that they could make it here too (although I don’t ever reminisce). She had me convinced that a special griddle is the only way to make it, but with some further research I have found that you can use a cast iron skillet as well; I assume thats what a home cook would have on hand nonetheless. The cookware must be durable and able to hold heat for an extended period of time so those bubbles can form on the bottom just like when making pancakes.  Once cooked, it’s typically cut into triangles, and always eaten with pesto.  I guess you may suggest the texture of soggy bread when tasting, at least that’s what came to mind when my mama tried it again this week after too many years of missing out. The Testaroli becomes spongy and quickly absorbs all the oil and delicious juices of the pesto too. Ahh it’s so delicious!  

I think what thrills me the most about this story is how little the internet world knows about Testaroli- besides a few Italian related food sites and Wikipedia- and that this truly is a homegrown novelty from where my family originates. I think Italy is so much more than pasta, pizza, and zeppoli. Oh Man, there is so much food culture hidden beneath valleys and along the coasts of the boot. I think it’s pretty amazing that I can share something near and dear to my heart, with you.

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